Hi guys.

I am recording HD using my HD PVR, which outputs H264 directly and no option to go lossless. Therefore, I wanted to use these as raw files and only do one more encode to the final bitrate, to preserve as much as possible of the quality.

Howeveer, I'm also splitting the recording up into several (20+) files during the playthrough, since I don't get too much uninterrupted time to play, which means each file has several seconds of "junk" both at the beginning and end that I wanted to cut away. I also sometimes get stutters in cutscenes so I've re-recorded those and need to splice them into the original file. The problem is that VirtualDub isn't really made for this much editing, and to make the edits without reencoding I have to cut on keyframes.

In the end, I think I will have to use a "real" editor to do the merging, so I can do fadeouts and such, especially for the music.

So, to the actual question..... The encoding-tutorial describes using AviSynth to insert the LP-information at the beginning, which I won't be able to do without an extra encoding, losing information. It also uses very specific settings in MeGUI, whereas I would have to use the ffdshow settings instead.

Is it ok if I use the video editing software to add similar text to the beginning (correct text, correct colour, similar but not exakt font and size, etc) and use similar, but not exactly the same, settings in another encoder frontend?

Hello,

You can use any software to add the signature, as long as it looks reasonably like the template. ;-)
Notice that you can easily use AviSynth to trim the start and end of video files and add fadein/fadout effects.

I use that extensively to merge my recording sessions.
The trimming part is described in this FAQ.
The Fade functions are described in the AviSynth wiki, but I can give you an additional example if you wish.

Doesn't your Hauppage HD PVR comes with a video converter software? It should be bundled with Media Converter where you can convert to any format including AVI (depending on codec installed) so you can edit in virtual dub.

For more info read here:
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hdpvr.html

If not, download the latest driver and applications for you Hauppage HD PVR here:
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/support/support_hdpvr.html

If you want to use a commercial video editing software as an alternative, use something like Tmpegenc's brand new Video Mastering 5 (A cheaper alternative to Sony Vegas Pro and Adobe Primiere). This software will allow you to edit and output your files in any format losslessly and preserves the original fps.

For freeware video editing other than virtual dub, you may try AVIdemux or MPEG Streamclip instead.

Yeah, I know that AviSynth is incredibly powerful and can do more or less anything I want. The problem is ease of use. I will have around 25-30 files, some of which need parts in the middle cut out, all need start and end cut out, some will need audio fades, etc, etc.

In my experience, trying to find the proper cutpoints and fadepoints in VirtualDub is an exercise in frustration, since the preview never matches with what that frame actually contains. I've had files that look perfect in VD but when I save as a new AVI, I get one extra frame at the end that was supposedly cut out, and so on and so forth.

Although, having said that, I'll probably give it a shot anyway, since I like to be able to script things. :-) I just wanted to know if it was ok to "fake" the credits and such with another program or if it was AviSynth or nothing. Then at least I have a fallback if I have no hair to tear out after a while.

Related question; what bitrate/filesize is considered reasonable?

I did a test-encode on my first chapter, using the default quality setting of MeGUI and it seems to be using around 5Mbit/s, which would be a bit over 2GB per hour of movie. I expect the total length of the LP would be between 8 and 12 hours, so a total size of 16 and 24GB, would that be ok?

Personally I try to end up with around 2500kbps for my HD videos, I change the bitrate settings accordingly, try uploading a sample to the FTP and we can have a look at it, before you commit to encoding the whole thing. (Size is not really an issue, aside from the limitations on the videos we can upload to archive...)

Ok, I'll do that. Should I just PM you with the uploaded filename or something when it's there?

Just write it in the Shoutbox :-)

New question; I know it says to keep the original framerate of the game, but in this case, the game actually runs at 30fps, but outputs at 60fps. So there are always two repeat frames.

Should I still encode at 60fps, or convert down to 30fps? I suspect that 60fps won't take that much extra space since H264 is motion-based, but the capture card seems to make subtle differences in the frames, probably because it's analog, so it will take more space for no good reason, I just don't know how much.

You might as well keep it at 60 as that is what it will be recorded as. Youtube might convert it to 30 but... :-P The difference in filesize shouldn't be too big. It's more a question of wether you want to spend the extra time one the encoding (it takes longer when the output video is 60 fps, obviously)

I usually record the videos in M2TS in the highest bitrate the HD PVR offers and then reencode it to something lower with AviSynth/MeGUI

Before i do the reencoding i use VideoRedo4 to cut out all the unneeded stuff - did you try that to get rid of the "junk" Connor?

Well, yes and no.. I did try the demo of VideoRedo, but I didn't find it particularly good, so I wasn't prepared to pay for it. I actually spent some time with the documentation of AviSynth and got it working pretty well instead. I actually do enjoy scripting, so AS fits me pretty well once I got the hang of it.

Now I just have to battle with other stupid things, like how TME or whatever that recording software is called likes to change the settings once in a while, making everything I record until I notice it useless. Or how AviDemux mis-interprets some M2TS-files and think the audio is 448kbit/s instead of 640, making the sound horribly mangled. Or how my encoding computer is too puny so it can't playback frameserved 60fps without stuttering, making editing harder.

But I'll get there! :-)

I changed the corresponding bit rate settings, try to upload to the FTP sample, we can look in your commitment to code the whole thing.